HERB - Fw: [SD] Fwd: Near and Far Eastern Aromas

[Gaylin Walli]

Chandani (and Herbalist members and Christianna because you forwarded
the note to the list asking anyone to help):

>Does anyone know how these oils would have been used in period and if
>they were specific only to India?  Would the Turks, Egyptians, or people
>of Muslim Spain have used such a thing?  Are any oils definitely in
>period over others?

There are some good places to start looking for this information if
you wanted to start researching oils and scents use in period and
prior. Start with the Christian Bible. One of the earliest mentions
that I remember was when God spoke to Moses, saying:

You yourself shall take spices as follows: five hundred sheckels
of sticks of myrrh, half that amount of fragrant cinnamon, two
hundred and fifty shekels of armonatic cane, five hundred shekels
of cassia by the sacred standard and a hin of olive oil...This shall
be the holy anointing oil for my service in ever generation.
[Exodus 30:22-32]

Although questionably period, the Bible, specifically the Old Testament,
is a good way to get a flavor of what might be discussed. Try using one
of the online searchable bibles and look for cassia and cinnamon and
myrrh and frankincense.

Two more places to look. The books commonly listed as having been
written by Hippocrates (or the Hippocratic Consortium) mention
gums, resins, and spices all the time. There are a number of these
works online and you may be able to search them as well. Another
good place is the work by Theophrastus who wrote a short work
translated as "On Odors".

Although you're new to the SCA, if you can read French, there's a
book that discusses the uses of perfumes in antiquity called "Les Jardins
d'Adonis" that may be of use to you. I'm sorry I don't know the author or
publishing information.

There's a very good summary of the uses in an easily readible and
obtainable book by Guido Majno called "The Healing Hand: Man and
Wound in the Ancient World" (1975, Harvard University Press,
ISBN 0-674-38330-3). You want the beginning and end of chapter 5
titled "The Perfumes of Arabia". If you would like some assistance
with this, please contact me personally and I will gladly summarize
this information for you. I have a copy of the book.

>If I chose to adapt such a practice, what sort of considerations would I
>need to make for the populace?  For example, I probably would hold off
>on "reoiling" just before feast to not interfere with the aromas the
>feastocrat had worked so hard to prepare.

Although I have no period reference for you in this regard, one of
the wonderful seductions of life involves the "discovery" of a scent
rather than the "announcement" of it. Were I to choose, I would say
oil roughly 1/2 hour before performance. This would jive pretty
well with what they teach you in charm and poise school with regards
to perfume use today. :)

Jasmine
Iasmin de Cordoba, gwalli at infoengine.com
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